“Fashion me upon your heart as a seal of fire for evermore. This living, consuming flame will seal you as my prisoner of love. My passion is stronger than the chains of death and the grave, all-consuming as the very flashes of fire from the burning heart of God. Place this fierce, unrelenting fire over your entire being…” Song of Songs 8.6

I like peace and quiet. Undisturbed mornings with a good cup of coffee, an English muffin, and a warm sunrise about to awaken. Without a doubt, I need time to be alone with my thoughts, challenge my fears, submit my thoughts to truth, and renew my grasp on my life’s purpose. I find this happens best in unhurried conversations with myself and the one I promised to follow every day of my life. This is my oxygen for living. A secret place like this is something I continually fight to have. It is not a luxury, but the air I breathe. Without it, I lose my ability to wrestle my beasts to the ground and live in the simple humanity of Eden’s original promise. With purpose, I try to move into my day with the determination to fully live in the restorative blessing purchased for me by the sacrifice of my beloved. However, my faith becomes bland when I attempt to self-power through my days, and the adventure of following my master turns feckless and grey. At the bottom line, I have a daily choice: to live my life with the diminished realization of the promises and tools given to me to subdue kingdoms, or I can live in the atmosphere of heaven. I get to choose, and you do, too.

I believe no formula fits all in this arena, contrary to what we pastors and leaders collectively state. Living in a relationship with a holy God within a world gone mad is more art than science. It is life presented to Him daily so He can carve out of our block of wood or marble or circumstance the life of glory. When we have chosen to live on His foundation, He is willing to carve and construct us according to the plans drawn by our creator/redeemer. He applies the plans and power to shape and grow us into fruitful lives, settled in Himself, with nothing missing and nothing broken (Shalom). Each of us gets to find a way of secret delight with our beloved, but we must live into it. This is not to say that there are no commonalities in our walks with God; it is to say that His relational life with us is as tailored as it can possibly be.

It is that artful place in Him, bearing fruit, seated in heavenly places, enjoying the benefits of His life flowing unhindered in our veins, knowing “we are our beloved and His desire is toward us (Song of Songs).” Where is that place for you? Where do you go daily to get your oxygen and the ability to wrestle your beasts to the ground and grow in the art of living fully in Him?